Rhinos....

      Tigers aren't the only species affected by poaching. There are many others, including sharks, pangolins, elephants, and rhinos, for example. However, there is a species that we may not consider being affected: us. True, we are nowhere near being endangered, but may people are affected by poachers. Before we cover that, however, we need to first begin this post with the rhinos, as the connection between rhinos being affected by poaching and humans being affected by poaching is somewhat unclear at first.

      The rhino is hunted for its horns, believed to have special healing properties--even though the horn is made of keratin; as are our fingernails. So if the horn actually did have healing powers, couldn't you just chew your fingernails? The thing is, what seems to be happening is a rumor mill influencing people to go out and buy rhino horn, therefore increasing the demand, and leading to more rhinos being poached. It doesn't help that rhino populations are declining, leading to greater demand to find a source. I believe that an earlier post mentioned a tiger poached in a zoo? Similar attempts have been made on rhinos, although they were (thankfully!) foiled. Museums are also a target; as of September 13th, 2011, at least 41 horns had been stolen from museums in South Africa, Europe, and, yes, the United States. Some museums, such as the National History Museum at Tring have put fake horns on their rhino exhibits--but some of these have been purloined as well.
     There are efforts being made to counter the poaching, such as the above-mentioned replacement of real rhino horns with fakes. Another measure involves anesthetizing rhinos and cutting off their horn--while leaving a stub that will grow back in roughly two years. Some people are worried about the rhinos being attacked by predators while the horn is regrowing, but the rhino can still pack a punch with that stub, so lions will probably stay away. Another benefit is that less rhinos will die from injuries that they got fighting over mates and territory. The absence of a horn may even make poachers lose interest in the animals.
      On one final note regarding the rhinos, I came across three images that I will include:

     This image was in the March 2012 National Geographic issue in the article titled "Rhino Wars". Under it was the following caption:  "A white rhino cow (at left) grazes with a bull that has become her companion after a poaching attack in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Using a helicopter, a gang tracked her and her four-week-old calf, shot her with a tranquilizer dart, and cut off her horns with a chain saw. Rangers found her a week later, searching for her calf, which had died, probably of starvation and dehydration."  I found a digital version of this image on the National Geographic site, along with other images from the same article.  The link is included in this post, along with links to the actual article, a related map, and a video showing the process of a horn being ground.

     This image was found in another article from a similar site, and the caption states the very reason I included the photo: "The use of rhino as a medicine threatens the survival of the species". You can even see the label of the box of pills: "RHINOCEROS  & ANTELOPE HORN FEBRIFUGAL TABLETS".   Considering that rhino horn is keratin, and has no medical value, I can assume that the same is true for antelope horns. Therefore, why are these animals still being hunted for "medical" purposes? It may just come down to tradition, rumors, and greed.

     This final image also caught my attention due to the caption, which reads: "A game warden guards one of perhaps 30 black rhinos left in Zimbabwe's Matusadona National Park from poacher--in 1997". That means that fourteen years have passed since this picture was taken--and fourteen years ago there were 30 rhinos left in this park. How many remain today?  Or has this area become empty of the black rhino--because the poaching was unable to be stopped?

                      

                                                         --Skyepika

                                                         



                                       

                                Links:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/rhino-wars/gwin-text/2  (Article)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/rhino-wars/stirton-photography  (Images)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/rhino-wars/rhino-map  (Map)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions/field-test/rhino-wars  (Video)

                                Sources:

      "Museums Targeted as Rhino Horn Demand Soars ." hsi.org. Humane Society International , 13 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.
       "India: Suspect Arrested for Attempting to Kill Rhinos in Zoo." rhinoconservation.org. Ed. Rhishja Cota-Larson. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.
       Gwin, Peter. "Rhino Wars." National Geographic Mar. 2012: 106-23. Print.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.
         Braun, David. "South Africa, Zimbabwe epicenter of rhino poaching crisis, data show." newswatch.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.



 Sorry for any inconvenience caused, but I forgot to mention that this post is the first of three in a series that were meant to be a single post, but turned out to be too large to be that way. The next parts are upcoming, so stay tuned!